General Chinese (Beginner Level)

Can you imagine that your eye has an apple in it? And, can you imagine that this same apple in your eye represents a person you are extremely fond of? Well, sometimes expressions are a bit hard to understand, just like “the apple of my eye.” In Mandarin Chinese, that person, the dear apple, that ...

In English the word “thing” is quite vague and can imply animate and inanimate objects as well as concepts and general life transactions. For example if I were to say, “The thing is, that thing I was thinking about made me drop the thing.” It covers, well… a lot of things. Thankfully, in Chinese “thing” ...

Since the Beijing Olympics of 2008, there has been a large increase in the amount of foreign travelers coming into China. In recent years, with China’s economic and cultural rise, more and more people are choosing to come to China for travel, work and study. Just as Chinese people are traveling abroad in record numbers, ...

When talking about language, people often instantly assume that when you say “Chinese” you mean “Mandarin.” This is because “Mandarin Chinese” is the standard language of China, the world’s #1 spoken language (in terms of native speakers), and the most common language to learn right now for foreign learners of Chinese. However, “Chinese” doesn’t necessarily only ...

What’s the trendiest thing you can think of? Add a cat and you’ve got a recipe for success. Cats are taking over everything from cafes to the Internet and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon. Let’s take a look at China’s cat culture and why this beloved animal is trending.
Recently, China has ...

Just like shared bicycles, the moment that it was introduced, “unmanned retail” brought us one step closer to the future. It embraces the ”new retail” strategy where big data technology connects and optimizes offline outlets and online stores to enhance customer experiences. All of these new industries have greatly facilitated our lives and have saved ...

Language is always evolving, and Mandarin Chinese is no exception. The past two years or so, more and more Chinese people are using the word “老铁 (lǎotiě).” Originally, “老铁 (lǎotiě)” was used as a word by a northeastern Chinese dialect. One example of how this word was created is the following:
Winter in northern China ...

While learning Chinese expressions, it’s important that you understand the literal meaning and also the figurative meaning as well. Knowing the figurative meaning will help you apply the language to the appropriate situation, while knowing the literal meaning will help you avoid embarrassing or funny misuse of the expression or idiom. Just as with the ...

I get asked all the time by prospective students, new students, or even seasoned students–“How do I improve my spoken Chinese?” And not only do they want to know the answer to that question, they also want to know: “How can I do it fast?”
Often if you are a Westerner learning Chinese, you are not ...

It’s always fun to use Mandarin Chinese slang among Chinese friends. When we are joking around together, we often tease each other in a playful manner with “吐槽 (tǔcáo)” and lighten the mood. When we want to be self-deprecating regarding our sudden and impulsive behavior, there is another expression we can use: “脑子发热 (nǎozi fārè).”
脑子发热 ...